Google’s smart speaker outsold Amazon’s for the first time in the first quarter of 2018, according to a report by market analysis firm Canalys. Between January and March 2018, Google shipped 3.2 million Google Home devices while Amazon shipped 2.5 million Echo units.
Google Home sold in the first quarter 2018 accounted for 36.2 percent of global smart speaker shipment, followed by Amazon’s 27.7 percent, Alibaba’s 11.8 percent and Xiaomi’s seven percent.
Nine million units of smart speakers were shipped worldwide in the first quarter of 2018. Amazon’s market share the shipment fell drastically from 79.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017 to 27.7 percent one year later. Canalys attributed Google’s positive performance in sales to its distribution strategy.
“Operators and retailers tend to prioritize Google’s speakers over those from Amazon, as Amazon is in the tricky position of being a direct competitor,” said Ben Stanton, an analyst at Canalys. “But Amazon is fighting back hard, and the sheer quantity of Alexa Skills and smart home integrations will be tough for any competitor to match.”
Both companies are working hard to improve smart home integrations and applications in other categories, as well as the intelligence of their smart assistants.
In terms of shipping worldwide, the U.S’ share fell to below 50 percent for the first time, as a result of strong growth in other parts of the world.
China was the second largest market for the product, with 1.8 million units shipped in the first quarter. South Korea overpassed UK to take the third place with 730,000 shipments.
Both Amazon and Google are also eyeing on international markets. Amazon Alexa currently understands English, German and Japanese, and Echo devices are available in more than 30 countries. Google Home has been localized for seven countries, and Google Assistant will be available in 30 languages and 80 countries by the end of this year.